Police Area Representative Officers-Solving Neighborhood Problems
What do you do if you've reported problems in your neighborhood to the police department, but they just keep happening and seem to be getting worse?
What do you do if the neighborhood children have continued to destroy your neighbor's flowerbeds even after she complained to the parents and have now started throwing rocks at her car?
What do you do if the two families down the block are still upset over a minor incident that occurred three years ago and have begun standing in their front yards shouting at each other?
You can call 911 and ask for an officer to come out, but that isn't really what you want; you know from experience that it will happen again. What you want is to have the underlying problems resolved so that these incidents stop and don't happen again. What you need to do is call your Police Area Representative (PAR) officer.
Springfield is divided into ten beats for the purposes of Community Oriented Policing. A PAR officer is assigned to each beat. The PAR officers work out of substations located in their districts but are overseen by a Lieutenant who is geographically responsible for problem-solving policing in his assigned beat.
When PAR officers get involved in a neighborhood issue, their job is not to find fault or place blame. Their job is to work with all involved parties to reach a resolution that everyone can live with. PAR officers have received extensive training in handling conflict and resolving longstanding problems. If a community organization may be able to provide help, the officer knows which one to contact and who to ask for.
If you're having a problem in your neighborhood and would like to discuss it with your PAR officer, first determine what police response area (or beat) you live in by checking the beat map (or call 864-1810 if you need further assistance). Find your neighborhood's PAR officer in the table below and leave a message for him/her. The officer will return your call during his next scheduled work day. PAR officers work a varying schedule and may not be available when you call. If you need immediate assistance or feel that your problem can't wait, call 911.
| CSS Commander Lt. Greg Higdon 864-1742 | CSS Supervisor Sgt. Darrell Rader 864-1763 | |||||
| South PARs | North PARs | |||||
| Crime Prevention Beats 11,12,15 |
Officer Jason Rust | 874-1201 44546# |
Beats 21, 22, 24 | Officer Kevin Holle | 874-1201 44086# |
|
| Beats 13, 14 | Officer Jason Friend | 874-9338 44018# |
Beats 23, 25 | No PAR Officer due to staffing shortages |
||
| Park Central Square |
Officer David Haines Officer David Walker |
874-1201 44589# 874-1201 44229# |
||||
